Matilda felt like she was living in a dream. No one had ever fixed her hair but her mother or herself. She did as she was told and sat down, feeling Mary pluck the pins that held her hair up. “I will brush it first. Your hair is beautiful, Matilda.”
Thirty minutes later, Matilda was headed down the stairs to break the fast with the family of the castle. Her hair was in an intricate knot at the back of her head, and she felt odd. This was not her life. She was an interloper. At least she was still wearing a dress she would brought with her; though she knew it made her stand out as a peasant, she was comfortable in it.
Lord Robert was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, and he offered his arm. She immediately tucked her hand into the curve of his arm and allowed him to escort her to the table. When they reached the table, she saw that his parents were already seated there. They had just been waiting for her. She was mortified that she would made them wait while Mary had played with her hair.
“Good morning. I beg your pardon for making you wait.” Matilda wondered if they had send her right back to work where she belonged.
“Nonsense. It is my fault you were late. I made you move all your things this morning when you were not expecting it. I hope you will find your new chamber comfortable.” Lady Lina smiled at her, making it clear she was not upset at all.
“Aye, of course I will, milady. It is the most beautiful room I have ever seen.” Matilda did not even have to exaggerate. Yesterday the most beautiful room she had ever seen was the one she had slept in last night. Today, her standards were changing quickly.
“I am glad you like it. I want to have some more dresses made for you as well. Are you a good hand with a needle?”
Matilda nodded. “I am, but if I may ask, I would love for Mary to help me. She did my hair this morning.”
Lady Lina nodded. “Sounds wonderful. She will be a good maid for you, I think.”
Robert was sitting across from Matilda, and she looked over at him, trying to determine if he thought everything was moving too quickly. Matilda was more than a little overwhelmed by how fast her life was changing. “Does all this make you happy?”
He nodded. “But I would be much happier if you would use my given name. My mother is going to start thinking you do not approve of the name she gave me.”
Matilda sighed. “It does not feel right calling you by your name. Robert.” She forced the name out of her mouth and realized that it did feel right on her lips. Robert.
“That is the way! We are leaving right after we break the fast to go see your parents. We will take the carriage. I do not suppose you know how to ride?” he asked. it would make things simpler for him, because he preferred riding, but it was unlikely she had the skill.
She shook her head. “My family has never had enough wealth to own a horse.”
Lady Lina shook her head. “You will learn to ride as soon as possible. It is one of the most freeing things that you can do. Galloping across a meadow with no saddle . . .”
Robert shook his head. “Matilda will use a saddle.”
“I never have, and I am a very good rider.” Lady Lina was smiling, making Matilda think this was an argument they had often.
“You have been riding your entire life, Mother. Matilda has never been atop a horse. She will need lessons from someone who will teach her to use a saddle and not ride bareback.”
Lord Alex smiled at Matilda. “You will find my wife a better teacher, but she will most certainly try to teach you to ride with no saddle, which is the most unladylike way to ride.”
Matilda looked between the two and shook her head. “I am not sure I am ready to learn to ride. A carriage is likely the best way for me to get around for a while.”
Alex laughed. “She made her own decision and refused to do what the two of you want! Now what?”
Robert shrugged. “I do not really care if she never learns to ride a horse as long as she is willing to marry me.”
“Let us see what my parents say first.” She was certain her parents were going to insist she stay home and not go back to the castle. There had been too many rumors about the family for her parents to trust them with her.
“All right. We will go, and we will talk to your parents, but do not be surprised when they meet me and realize they love me and want to keep me as their own son.” Robert grinned at her, lifting his glass in a toast.
Matilda looked over at Lady Lina. “Has he always displayed so much humility?”
“Oh aye. From the day of his birth, he has been just this humble.”
“I was afraid of that.” Matilda shook her head at Robert, wondering how her parents were going to respond to him.
Chapter Four
As soon as they had finished breaking the fast, Robert led Matilda out to the carriage he had waiting. He helped her up and then moved around to sit beside her, taking the leads. With a flick of his wrist, they were off. “You will have to guide me,” he said to her, thrilled that she was sitting close enough that her arm was pressed against his. “I have never been there.”
She nodded. “Follow the road to the right.” She grew more and more nervous as they drove. “I am afraid my parents will be upset that we are coming to see them.” Truly she had no idea how her parents would react. They had never expected any more than being a serf for their only living child.
“Well, I will do my best to make them understand that I want nothing but what is best for you.” He glanced over at her. “Are you an only child?”
“In some ways. My mother had seven other children who all died before they reached adulthood. Some as babes. Some as small children. I am the only one to be old enough for her to worry about marrying.”
“Do you remember any of them?”
She shook her head. “No, I was the youngest of them all. None were alive while I was. My mother is old. She had me when she was over thirty summers old!”
“That is not old,” he responded. “My mother had me at twenty-nine summers, but I am older than you are.”
“How old?” she asked. She knew not everyone liked to be asked questions about their age, but if he was considering courting and marrying her, then she had every right to know.
“Twenty-five summers.” Robert looked over at Matilda. “Do you think that is too old?”
She shook her head. “Probably not.” She pointed. “There! That is my home.”
“Your parents’ home,” he responded. “Your new home is in the castle with me.”
She smiled at him, doing her best not to contradict the man. “They are probably both in the field.”
“We will walk out to them then.”
Her eyes widened. “Mayhap you should wait inside while I go and fetch them.” She could not imagine him walking across the field toward her parents. She could get them for him quite easily.
Robert shook his head. “Nay. I will walk with you. It is not like I am a weakling and cannot walk across a field.”
“Well, you are getting old, milord.”
He shook his head, getting down and walking around the carriage. Offering his hand to help her down, he said, “You might want to refrain from teasing me while we are trying to convince your parents we should marry. I am not sure how they will react.” He secretly loved the way she teased, but only when they were alone and it was appropriate.
“I am not either.” Yesterday, she was convinced they would hate the idea, and she did not have a problem with that. Now that he would kissed her, she could think of nothing but being his bride. She hoped they could convince her parents that it was the best thing for her, but she knew her mother had warned her just yesterday about getting involved with the son of the lord of the castle. That son was beside her and wanted to be her husband. How was she going to explain that?
This time it was she who led the way to their destination, walking around the little house where she had always lived and toward the large fields her parents were the caretakers of. When she reached the field, she lifted her hand in a
wave, and she immediately saw her mother drop her bucket of water and run toward her, her arms outstretched.
As Matilda embraced her mother, her mind raced to find the right way to explain why she was home. “Mother, I brought Robert Lain to meet you. He is the youngest son of Lord Alexander.”
Her mother immediately bobbed a curtsey, looking nervous. “Milord.”
“Please call me Robert.”
Her mother shook her head. “Oh, I could not!”
Robert sighed. At least he now knew where Matilda got her stubbornness from. “I have come to speak with you and your husband. Is he close?”
Her mother looked from Matilda to Robert and then nodded. “Aye, I will go and get him.”
“Let me do it, Mother. I do not want you to have to walk all that way when I can do it.”
Her mother seemed to hesitate, and then she nodded. “All right. Go.”
As Matilda ran off across the field, Robert smiled at her mother. “I want to marry her.” He looked back at Matilda running so freely over the field. She was beautiful, and he never wanted to take his eyes off her.
She put her hand over her chest as if there was something wrong with her heart for just a moment. “Marry?”
He nodded. “I know it is sudden, but the people in my family tend to meet the person they are meant to spend their lives with, and they marry immediately. My parents knew one another for two days before they married.” He knew it was a strange concept for most people to understand, but it was the only way he had ever known.
“I warned her about you . . .”
“I know you did. I appreciate you trying to protect her, but my parents are ready to accept her as their newest daughter, and I want her for my wife. I will inherit the castle as soon as I marry, so there is no worry about the home I will be able to provide for her.” He hoped getting her mother on his side before her father returned would help him be able to convince her father. He could see Matilda walking back toward him with a man who was slightly stooped over. “May I have your support?”
She stared at him. “Why would you want to marry her? You do not need to marry to bed a serf.”
“No, I do not, but I do not just want to bed her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and I want her to bear my children.” Robert had to convince her it was the truth. He knew Matilda desperately wanted her parents to support any future marriage.
She slowly nodded. “I will support you.”
He smiled. “Thank you.” He felt as if he had climbed a mountain when he got Matilda’s mother’s agreement. He was halfway there.
When Matilda returned with the old man, Robert turned his attention to her father. “I am Robert, youngest son of Lord Alexander. I will inherit his castle as soon as I marry, and I would like to marry your daughter.”
Matilda’s eyes grew wide as Robert got straight to the point. She had not yet taken the time to explain why they were there.
Her father looked at Matilda. “Do you wish to marry this man?”
Matilda bit her lip before nodding. “Aye, I do.”
“Then marry him. I have no objection to you marrying a man who will take good care of you. You have my blessing.” With those words, her father turned to go back to his field. He was obviously finished with the conversation.
“I would like to marry her two days hence. Would you both come to the castle for the wedding feast?”
Her parents exchanged a glance. “We would not want to shame her. We have no clothes that are worthy of a feast. She may marry you, but I think we should stay away,” her mother said softly.
“I would like for you to be there,” Matilda said. “Please.”
Her mother shook her head. “No, child. It is not for us. You enjoy yourself and come to visit us when you can.”
Matilda felt her tears falling. She felt as if this was her parents’ way to say goodbye to her. She was not wanting to end her relationship with them. “I will come often.”
Her mother smiled and nodded, hugging her close. “I love you. Be happy, my child.” She turned away and walked back to the field where she would work.
Matilda looked at Robert. “They are acting as if they will never see me again.”
Robert was quiet for a moment as he realized what her parents were doing. They were giving her the opportunity to leave them in her past. She would seem to all to be a high-born lady if they were not around. She was educated, and she would be wearing the finest clothes as soon as they married. He put his arm around her and led her back to the carriage, knowing he would have to find a way for her parents to continue to be part of her life.
She was quiet on the ride back to the castle. When they reached their destination, Robert jumped down and helped Matilda to the ground. “Go find Mary. You two will need to start sewing immediately. I will talk to Mother and have her start getting everything ready for a wedding feast.”
“I would like a portion of the feast to be taken to my parents,” she said softly.
“I was already planning to do that very thing.” He looked at her, hating the sadness that was etched on her face. He pulled her to him and held her close. “We will do all we can for them to continue to be part of your life.”
She looked up at him with surprise. “Why?”
“Because I can see that it will make you happy. Your happiness means everything to me, Matilda. I will see to it.” He turned and led the horses to the stable, handing them off to a stable boy before going in to talk to his mother. He assumed Matilda was off doing what he would instructed.
Matilda found Mary and hurried up the stairs with her. She took her to her room and explained how her parents had acted.
Mary nodded. “Aye, my parents were the same way when I came to work here. This is a higher station than they were in, so they knew I would never go back.”
“Have you?”
Mary shook her head. “No, the people I work with here have become my family. I have not returned.”
“I do not want it to be like that for my parents, but Robert wants to marry in two days, so I have to start making dresses. I have been given permission for you to be my personal maid, and we are to start making new clothes for me immediately.”
Mary clapped her hands together. “This will help me a lot. You will be the lady of the house, and I will be your maid. I will be moving up several ranks overnight.”
“The others will not be upset, will they?”
“Alice told me to talk to you. She said that we got on well enough that it could be what I needed to better myself.”
Matilda smiled. “I am glad it is working out well for you. We must go find Lady Lina so we can get started sewing.”
“Matilda?” Mary asked.
Matilda stopped and turned back to her friend. “Aye?”
“Will you be happy with Lord Robert?”
Matilda bit her lip, thinking about the question. “I believe I will. I feel more for him than I have ever felt for a man. I cannot say that I love him because I barely know him, but I do believe love will come in time.”
“Then let us go get you some fabric so we can make you dresses.” Mary smiled and led the way out of the room and down the stairs to Lady Lina. As soon as she saw Robert’s mother, she called out to her. “Lady Lina!”
Lina turned and smiled at the two girls walking toward her. “Aye, how can I help you?”
“If there is to be a wedding two days hence, we are going to need to start sewing immediately. Do you have any fabric we may use?” Mary asked.
“Of course. I keep a trunk with fabrics in my room. I will show you.” Lady Lina kept looking at Matilda, as if she wanted to talk to her. Matilda knew her eyes would show the evidence of her recent tears, so she was not surprised.
Together the three women went through many fabrics that were in the trunk. “I have some silk, but it is in a color that would not look good with your skin tones. That is why it is still in my trunk. I do not think it would look good on anyone.” Lady Lina kept
digging. “Here. I think this will suit you nicely. It is a thin wool that would make a beautiful dress. How would you like to marry in green?”
Matilda had never had a choice of color of her clothing in her life. It was all fascinating to her. “I would be happy to wear whatever you think will look best on me, milady.”
“This then,” Lady Lina said, handing the fabric to Mary. “Can the two of you turn that into a dress fit for a wedding in two days?”
Mary nodded. “Aye, I am certain we can. Perhaps we could have some linen as well for new underthings.”
Lina handed some linen cloth to Mary as well. It was white and would work perfectly for what Matilda needed.
As the two younger women started to leave, Lina stopped Matilda. “I would like to ask you a private question, if I may.”
Matilda waited for Mary to shut the door behind her, which was not easy with her arms full of fabric, and then she turned her full attention to the woman who was about to be her mother-in-law. “Why do you cry?”
Matilda sighed. “We spoke to my parents, and they are happy with the marriage, but they are convinced we will never see each other again. Even Robert said that it would probably be best if I did not keep trying to see them. And they will not come for the wedding feast. They do not want to embarrass me.”
“I see.” Lady Lina sighed. “I am so sorry you are going through this. We do have a small cottage that is here on the property . . . well, there is a large house that is already furnished and waiting for Lord Alex and I to move into, and then there is a small cottage that sits empty. Would you parents like to move into it?”
Matilda’s eyes grew wide. It had never occurred to her that this family would be generous to her parents as well as her. “I would love for them to move there, but I do not know if they will.” She worried her parents’ pride would keep them from wanting to take the house.
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